Air-ship.



- Patented Oct. 9, I900. C. STANLEY.

AIB SHIP.

(Application filed Aug. 7, 1899.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

. Patented Oct. 9, I900. G. STANLEY.

AIR SHIP.

(Application filed Aug. 7, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(.lo Iiodol.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES STANLEY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE STANLEYAERIAL NAVIGATION COMPANY, OF CALIFORNIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 659,264, dated October9, 1900.

Application filed August 7 1899. Serial No. 726,442. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES STANLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State ofCalifornia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements inAir-Ships, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to aerial navigation,

and more particularly to the construction of IO an aerial vessel oraireship which shall be practically operative. The term last used is acomprehensive one to express the idea of a vessel which shall overcomethe various difficulties of this kind of navigation, for some of whichlong experiment has provided no solution.

The structure in which the various improvements constituting myinvention are embodied fulfils all the requirements of a practicalair-ship. These are buoyancy, which enables it to float in the air;strength sufficient to withstand exterior air-pressure when it is filledwith a gas lighter than air; a form or shape offering the minimum ofresistance and best subject to control; dirigibility, by which I meanthe ability to direct the course of the vessel, not only in steering acourse forward and backward, but in ascending and descending, and meansfor carrying freight and passengers and for containing the motive powerof the ship. Such a structure is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my air-ship 3 5 withthe shell partly broken away to show the interior construction. Fig. 2is an end elevation. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line a: a: ofFig. 1. Fig. at is a horizontal section showing the main bottom of thestructure with the partition which separates the buoyant or gasholdingspace from the carrying-space removed. Fig. 5 is a cross-section on theline y y of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is'an enlarged detail of part of the interiorframing.

The main body of the ship is a cylindrical hollow shell A, having ateach end a conical extension B, and I prefer to construct it ofaluminium in order to secure the necessary lightness. This shell isinternally braced and strengthened to resist the tendency to collapseunder external airpressure by a framing,

hereinafter described.

ing a well-braced structure or truss of exceedingly strong and yet lightconstruction. Any number of these framings can be used, according to thesize of the ship, giving the structure ample strength to resist externalairpressure. By making this framing of aluminium the weight of thestructure will not be increased sufficiently to detract from therequired buoyancy.

Within the shell is secured a longitudinal and horizontal partition D,which is made double to allow for expansion of the gas through valves 5and which extends from end to end and divides the interior into twocompartments of unequal size. In a structure with a diameter of fiftyfeet the partition D should be placed about fifteen feet above thebottom. The space above the partition is to be filled with a buoyantgas, preferably hydrogen. The space below is intended to contain all theoperative machinery and the accommodation for the crew, passengers,freight, and supplies. This accommodat-ion-space is lighted by a row ofport-holes on each side, as shown. The disproportion between theaccommodation-space and the gas-chamber is of course calculated to givesufficient buoyancy to lift the ship and whatever load the former spaceis able to carry. The gas-chamber may be partitioned off by gas-tighttransverse plates J into non-communicating compartments in order that apossible leak from any cause at any point will afiect only onecompartment and not destroy the buoyancy of the entire structure. Thelifting power of the ship is thus derived from a buoyant gas, but ismodified and controlled by mechanical means The propelling power istransmitted to propeller-wheels located at the ends of the ship. Forpropulsion I may use any force and any means of producing it, whethersteam, explosive gas, compressed air, or electricity applied throughengines or motors of any desired kind. In the drawings, Figs. 4 and 5, Ihave illustrated two reciprocating engines F F, one of which transmitspower to a shaft F and the other to a shaft F The engines are situatedamidships and on the bottom of the hull and are located on both sides ofthe axis of the ship, so as to equalize and distribute the weight. Thetwo driving-shafts are of similar construction. Bearings '7 7 areprovided at proper intervals, and jointed shafting is used, as shown atS, to compensate for any possible twist or displacement in thestructure. Such a joint is also provided at the angles formed by thecone-shaped ends, up which the shaft is carried to the apex. Thepropellers G and G are journaled in bearings at the ends of the conesand are shown as geared to the drivingshafts by the angle-gears U and10.

In propellingthe ship such a motion is given the respective propellersas to cause the bow-propeller to pull and the stern-propeller to pushthe ship forward. These oooperating forces at both ends tend to hold theship to her course and at the same time greatly increase the speed. Theyalso tend to balance the structure. The ship is backed by reversing theengines in the ordinary way and is steered by an ordinary rudder R, ofwhich there may be one at each end. The rudder swings on a verticalrudder-post 11 and is connected by rudder-chains 12 to any suitableoperating device in the end of the ship.

One of the most important and essential features of practical aerialnavigation is the ability to handle the ship in ascending and descendingin order to land with the structure under control and to rise withoutshock or jar. I have devised special means for accomplishing thesepurposes and have illustrated the preferred construction of them in thedrawings. Such means can be used to resist the tendency of the buoyantship to rise, so as produce a gradual ascension, and can also be used tocompletely overcome suchtendency and produce a positive descent atcontrollable speed. The construction and operation of such means are inno way related to the wings employed in so-called flying-machines, whichcan never produce vertical motion, and hence can never cause an aerialvessel to rise or fall on an even keel. It is one of my objects toproduce a construction which .enables my ship to ascend and descendwhile maintaining a horizontal position. The means referred to may be ofany suitable construction adapted to act against the air at right anglesto the horizontal plane of the ship. I prefer to use, and in practicehave used, one or more propeller-wheels P P, located on top of thestructure and in the vertical plane of the longitudinal axis. Thesepropellers are mounted on vertical counter-shafts 13, geared to the mainshaft or otherwise, deriving motion from the driving power. If onepropeller be used, it is placed amidships; but if two are used, asshown, they are placed in the same relative positions between themidship vertical line and the bow and stern in order to balance eachother. I do not limit myself to propellers for these purposes, nor topropellers located above the ship, nor to propellers arranged in linewith the longitudinal axis of the ship. It is evident that one or morepropellers can be located in the same relative positions beneath thestructure, and also that such propellers or equivalent. devices can besupported outside and at the sides of the vesseland be driven so as toact on vertical lines of force against the atmosphere. Wherever they arelocated they are capable of being reversed in order to act upon the shipin either an upward or downward direction, as may be required. Anysuitable device, many of which are known to machine-designers, canbeemployed for disengaging the countershaft 13 from the main shaft inorder to leave these propellers inactive when their use is not required.These propellers are all that is required in ascending and descending insubstantially-verticaldirections; butin addition I have devised meansfor changing the course of the ship on oblique ascending or descendinglines without inclining the structure from the horizontal position inwhich it is desirable to maintain it. Upon each side of the structure ispivoted a series of side planes or rudders S, which are arrangedsubstantially in the central horizontal plane of the cylinder and whichtaken together extend along the sides for approximately the length ofthe cylindrical portion. Each plane is centrally pivoted by means of ashaft 14, which projects through the wall of the ship, and all theshafts are geared together, so as to be operated simultaneously. I haveshown sprocketwheels 15 on the shafts 14, all connected together bychains 16, which lead into the pilotroom at the bow. Any number of theseside planes can be used; .but in practice I have found that three oneach side of increasing length from the bow toward the stern make anefficient and practical controlling device. They are placed inhorizontal position normally, Fig. 2, but in use are capable of beingmoved in either direction on their pivots, so as to present an inclinedsurface to the atmosphere when the ship is proceeding. Taking Fig. 1 forillustration, where the planes are slightly raised toward the how theypresent an inclined lower surface to the air displaced by the ship inits forward motion, which produces a lifting action on the structure;but as the planes extend along the whole side of the ship and theair-pressure is equal upon the combined surfaces of all the planes thelifting action, although on an oblique upward and forward line, will beequally exerted along the whole series, the

members of which, as stated, are of increasing length toward the sternand will not tilt the hull from the horizontal. If the planes areinclined downwardly toward the how, the reverse effect of a change ofmotion on an oblique forward but downward line will be produced. Ofcourse in pursuing a course at a certain elevation the planes areadjusted to and kept in a horizontal position, in which they tend tosteady the ship and prevent any side roll. I

In case of descending upon water by accident or design the cylinder willfloat and can be operated and propelled. The engines and appurtenancesact as ballast to submerge the hull to a proper depth for safeflotation, and' I provide an auxiliary propeller H at the stern, whichcan be geared to the main shaft and used to propel the ship as afloating structure.

Under ordinary circumstances and conditions the propelling andcontrolling means herein described will be sufficient to regulate themovements of the ship safely and effectively. As precautionary measuresunder extraordinary circumstances which may arise forinstance, in timeof Warand which might result in the disabling of the motive power or thecontrolling apparatus or in the piercing of the hull and theescape of anexcessive amount of gas, I provide the structure with parachutes O, ofwhich any number may be used. These are preferably located in tubes 0,which extend from the top of the shell down through the gas-chamber tothe accommodation-space. I have shown one of such parachutes in thedrawings in normal inoperative position concealed within one of thesetubes and held there by any suitable means which allows it to bereleased by connections operable from below. When these parachutes arereleased, they project'above the top of the ship and-expand in theordinary way, with the result of checking the speed of the descent.

I do not limit myself to the details of con-' buoyant shell, of a seriesof side planes arranged along the side of the ship in a normalhorizontal line and substantially continuous, such planes beingindependently pivoted and connected together so as to be simultaneouslyand pivotal ly movable, the planes in the series increasing in lengthfrom the bow toward the stern.

2. In an air-ship, a buoyant structure having bow and stern propellers,and also vertically-acting propellers for transmitting ascensional anddescensional force, and provided further with a series of side planespivoted along each side and connected together for simultaneousadjustment.

3. In an air-ship, a buoyant shell having a gas-space separated from anaccommodationspace below, in combination with parachutetubes extendingvertically through the gasspace,and parachutes adapted to be concealedin folded form within such tubes and to expand above said tubes and theshell.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses, this 31st day of July, 1899.

CHARLES STANLEY.

Witnesses:

S. W. SEELY, FRANCES M. BURT.

